Documenting war crimes in Syria: summary executions

More than 80 bodies were pulled out of the river in Northern Syria. The victims, with hands tied and hooded appear to be victims of summary execution act. The government accuses the rebels and the rebels accuse the government. The identity of the victims may help identify the side that committed these crimes.

A resident of rebel-held eastern Aleppo who called himself Omar al-Halabi told the Guardian that 11 bodies had been identified by nightfall and claimed by their families for burial.

"Their relatives said that they live in ... areas under the control of the FSA like Ansari, Sukari and Al-Bustan districts," he said. "None were members of the Free Syria Army [FSA].

"I spoke to a guy who was able to identify his brother and his friend's bodies," he said. "[He] said that his brother and his friend were heading to one of the districts which are still under the control of the Syrian army in Aleppo and they did not come back three days ago. These two men were in their fifties.

"Other bodies were identified by their relatives who said that they had been detained at the Air Force Intelligence headquarters in Aleppo 10 days ago."

An eyewitness to the recovery effort said several bullets were fired during the day from buildings to the north.

Extrajudicial killings have become increasingly frequent in many parts of Syria over the past six months. However, Tuesday's death toll in Aleppo is believed to be without precedent in the city since rebels launched an assault there in July.